Picture screen and mounting therefor



Oct. 26, 1965 P. F. ALBEE, JR

PICTURE SCREEN AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed Jan. 16, I963 FIGS INVENTOR.

PERCY FREDERICK ALBEE,JR

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,213,925 PICTURE SCREEN AND MOUNTINGTHEREFOR Percy Frederick Albee, Jr., Barrington, R.I., asslgnor toQ-Panel Corporation, a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Jan. 16, 1963,Ser. No. 251,782 4 Claims. (Cl. 160-329) This invention relates to apicture screen and a wall mounting therefor.

Picture screens that are used for small groups and which generallycomprise a fabric wound on a roller that is either attached directly toa wall or a stand are only adaptable for distant projection. When shortfocal lengths are used as in many visual-aid projection devices, it isvirtually impossible to orient a screen of the above described typeperpendicular to the line of projection to minimize image distortion andkeep the screen at a vertical height where it can be viewed by all.

It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to provide amounting for a screen which may have its plane adjusted perpendicular tothe line of projection.

Another object of this invention is to provide a screen which may .bewall mounted in a bracket in such a manner that the screen may bedetached from the bracket and stored in a closet or some such placewhile only the bracket remains on the wall.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screen which, whendetached from its bracket, may be so collapsed and rolled that it willbe in a compact form for easy storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screen which may berolled into a compact form but which may be unrolled .and quicklyassembled into a taut form for the reception of a picture projectedthereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction which willbe extremely simple and inexpensive and yet one which will be effectivein use.

A still further object of the invention is to impart to a plastic screena stretching force so that it will remain taut and in a flat plane andyet limit the stretch which may occur.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation illustrating a motion picture projector andthe screen of this invention mounted upon a wall, the same being shownsomewhat diagrammatic;

FIG. 1A is a rear elevational View of the screen of the invention;

FIG. 2 is -a sectional view with parts broken away illustrating on alarger scale the rigid bars at the upper and lower edge of the screenand portions of the tensioning rod mounted therein;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the rigid bar which is at theopposite upper and lower edges of the screen;

v FIG. 4 is an elevation of one of the rods utilized in tensioni-ng thefabric or flexible screen before arched;

FIG. 5 is an elevation illustrating one of the rods in arched positionready for mounting in the bars at the opposite edges of the screen;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the bracket which is secured to the wall; and

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are sectional views through the bracket of FIG. 6.

In proceeding with this invention, I have secured rigid bars at theopposite edges of a flexible screen of plastic fabric or the like, and Ihold this screen in tension by securing the ends of bowed flexible rodsto the bars so that as the ends of the rod tending to spring apart theytension the flexible screen. I mount brackets on the wall and then bymeans of these flexible rods mount the screen in the brackets in such amanner that the rods may be easily attache-d to or detached from thebracket. Thus only the bracket need remain in place on the wall, whilethe screen may be detached therefrom, disassembled and rolled into asnug bundle and stored in a closet or the like.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates the vertical wall of aroom upon which there is mounted a bracket 11 which supports a screendesignated generally 12 for the reception of a picture projected from-aprojector 13 res-ting on table 14 which is supported on the floor 15 ofthe room.

The screen 12 comprises a plastic sheet 16 exhibiting a memorycharacteristic such as the vinyl family, for example polyvinylchloride,the surface of which is embossed for screen eifect or a fabric withrecovery characteristics suitably treated to present a suitable surfacefor receiving and reflecting the light rays of a picture. The oppositetop and bottom edges of this sheet are fastened to a bar or strip ofrigid material which in this case is designated generally 1-7 andcomprises a hollow metal tube with a front wall 18 and a back Wall -19connected by a wall 20 at one side, while the edges of the front andback walls 1 8 and 19 are brought together as at 21 and rolled in such amanner as to provide an ope-n groove 22 for the reception of the sheetof web material of the screen 16 which is held wedged in this groove bya binding channel 23 (FIG. 2) forced into the groove to tightly bind theedge of the web material 16 in the groove. This same construction ispresented in the opposite relation at the opposite edge of the webmaterial of the screen as will be seen in FIG. 2.

In the back wall 1 9 of this rigid tubular bar at loca tions spacedinwardly from the ends of the bar (that is, both ends of the bar), thereare openings 25 provided which openings receive rubber grommets so as toprevent the edge of the opening from abrading a rod placed therein.These openings provide a means of attaching a flexible rod designatedgenerally 28 and which is of usually a solid cylindrical constructionabout a quarter of an inch in diameter. This rod is slotted at its upperend as at 29 and also slotted at its lower end as at 30. A flexible wire31 is provided with a fixed loop 32 which is inserted .in the slot 29 atthe upper end of the rod, and this slot is closed by bringing the ends33 and 34 of the slot together so as to confine the loop of the wiretherein. The opposite end of the wire is provided with a loop 35 whichis received in the slot 30 at the lower end of the rod 28. This wire,however, is of a much shorter length than the length of the rod as willbe indicated in FIG. 4, and

the rod 28 is arched or bowed as shown in FIG. 5, and when in thisarched condition, the loop 35 of the wire 31 may then be positioned inthe slot 30 at the end of the rod so as to hold the rod in this archedcondition.

The arched bowed rods are assembled with the rigid bars 17 on the edgesof the screen 16 by inserting the ends of the rods in the openings 25 inthese bars. The lower end of the rod 28 in its arched condition isinserted in the opening 25 in the lower bar along the edge of the screendesignated 17, it being noted that the bowed or arched rod has its endsfurther apart than the normal stretch of the screen material .16, andthen the upper end of this rod is given a further bow or curvaturebringing its end 37 closer to its lower end 36, and then is inserted inthe opening in the upper bar 17" on the upper edge of the screen. Anotch 38 is located in the rod 28 adjacent the bottom end thereof, and abail 39 which is anchored in the bar 17 in a rockable manner may beswung int-o this notch to lock the rod in position. Then when the bowedor bent rod is released, it will stretch the screen 16 taut, leavingPatented Oct. 26, 1965 v 3 the wire 31 slight-1y limp but still of sucha length that when each side of the plastic screen stretches, a planarsurface will be maintained. Further, this wire limits the stretch of thescreen so that it will not stretch beyond-its elastic limit. Rods 28,28' will accordingly be adjacent each of the opposite side edges of thescreen material 16 or near the ends of each of the bars 17' and 17" withwires 31 of identical length, and also there may be abowed rod 28A inthe middle, if desired. A screen of material such as alluded to above,when released, will contract and may be rolled into a compact form forstorage.

The mounting of the screen on the wall will be by means of two wallbrackets engaging the opposite outside bowed rods. Such a wall bracket11 comprises a plate 40 with .a flange 41 bent at generally right anglesthereto. This flange 41 will be provided with top and bottom openingsand a middle opening for the reception of some fastening means such asscrews to mount this flange 41 in face to face relation with thevertical wall upon which the screen is to be mounted, thus presentingthe plate 40 at right angles to the wall .10. Mounting lugs 42, 43 and44 are bent upwardly from the outer edge of the plate 40 at spacedlocations also at right angles to the plane of the plate 40 but in arelation not parallel to the flange 41. These lugs will be so positionedthat they will present the maximum contacting surface with the rod 28 inits bent condition so that the middle lug 43 will engage one side of therod, and the end lugs 42 and 44 on either side of the lug 43 will engagethe other side of the rod as is shown in FIG. 1. A strip of plasticmaterial 45 such as nylon is located on the rod engaging surface of thelug and is secured thereto by rolling the edge of the lug over as at 46for lug 42, 47 for l-ug 43 and 48 for lug 44. This plastic materialallows some resilience and allows the rod to sink in slightly into theplastic material and present a larger frictional engaging surface thanwould occur with a metal to metal surface of the parts.

A bail is also located in the bar 17 so that it may be grasped to slidethe screen from the full line position shown in 'FIG. 1 to the dottedline position in FIG. 1 where it is desired that the inclination of thescreen be more perpendicular than that shown in full line position for aprojector close to it. The adjustment of this screen in the bracket isthus very readily provided for, the opti- 1. A picture screen comprisinga flexible sheet of stretchable material, rigid bars fixed along itsupper and lower edges, a pair of bendable rods of a straight lengthgreater than the distance between said bars, said rods being arched withtheir ends connected to said bars to spread them and place the flexiblesheet under tension by the inherent tendency of said rods to assume astraight position, and means between the ends of said rods to limit saidtendency to straighten and thus the amount of stretch imparted to saidflexible sheet so as to create a planar surface with said sheet.

2. A picture screen as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said bendablerods has a notch in its surface and a latch carried by said barinsertable in said notch to lock said rod in place. V

3. A picture screen as in claim 1 wherein said rigid bars have groovestherein, said sheet edges being in said grooves and members wedging saidsheet edges in said grooves.

4. A picture screen as in claim 1 wherein said rigid bars are hollowwith outwardly opening grooves, said sheet edges are in said grooves,and channel shape members wedge said sheet edges in said grooves to holdthem there- References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATES, PATENTS1,212,424 1/ 17 Tillotson 88-289 2,005,134 6/35 Emley. 2,272,269 2/42Heck 8828.91 2,468,190 4/49 Friedheim 248-300 2,473,301 6/49 Ramstad8828.9 2,789,042 4/ 5 7 Kinney -248300 JULIA E. C OINER, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A PICTURE SCREEN COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE SHEET OF STRETCHABLE MATERIAL,RIGID BARS FIXED ALOGN ITS UPPER AND LOWER EDGES, A PAIR OF BENDABLERODS OF A STRAIGHT LENGTH GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID BARS,SAID RODS BEING ARCHED WITH THEIR ENDS CONNECTED TO SAID BARS TO SPREADTHEM AND PLACE THE FLEXIBLE SHEET UNDER TENSION BY THE INHERENT TENDENCYOF SAID RODS TO ASSUME A STRAIGHT POSI-